RIYADH, 23 October 2005 — In a dramatic turn, an Indian national who sustained severe injuries from gunshots from three Sri Lankans, has pardoned the accused, foregoing the compensation due to him.
In a public case in March this year, three Sri Lankans were sentenced to death for armed robbery by High Court Judge Abdul Aziz Al-Musaikri. The convicts were D.D. Ranjith de Silva, Victor Corea and Sanath Pushpakumara. It was proved that the accused had committed three robberies, and were caught red-handed while driving a municipal vehicle as municipal employees. The driver of the vehicle, Hassan Mohideen, an Indian, who was working for the municipality through a contracting company, had been shot at and injured by the accused.
Hassan Mohideen sued the trio on the charge of intimidation and assault. Hassan Mohideen, who came to the courts on crutches submitted authenticated documents to the judge, Abdul Aziz ibn Ali Al-Roomy, alleging that he had suffered grievous hurt due to the assault rendering him unfit to resume his normal duties.
He underwent surgery in the Kingdom and subsequently had to undergo a specialized surgery in India to firm up his injured left leg.
The three accused pleaded guilty to the charge and appealed to the plaintiff that they were not in a position to pay any compensation since they have been in jail for the past two years. They further pointed out that their families back home are also too poor to bear liabilities.
During the imprisonment, the three embraced Islam and have shown good behavior during the period. On a request made by the judge, Hassan Mohideen graciously pardoned the three accused and told the judge that he would not need any compensation from the convicts since they have embraced Islam.
The plaintiff and the convicts exchanged greetings and the prisoners thanked Hassan Mohideen for waiving the compensation.
P.R.L. Wickramasinghe, labor secretary of the Sri Lankan Embassy who also pleaded on behalf of the accused, described Hassan Mohideen’s pardon as a humanitarian act. “We had sought a pardon on humanitarian grounds from the authorities concerned through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia,” the labor secretary said.
The Sri Lankan Embassy had also attached the appeals of the next-of-kin of the convicts, with appeal for clemency.
